When Two Worlds Collide
by adorkable-mandie
Summary: Emily, the Corpse Bride, has suddenly found herself in Halloween Town. She doesn't know how she got there and doesn't know how to get back to the Land of the Dead. But something happens to Emily when she meets a certain skeleton. Takes place before the movie stories.
1. When Emily Met Jack

"Another day in the Land of the Dead." sighed Emily. She was at the diner where she was watching Paul, the decapitated head that was a waiter, scurry around to make sure that everyone was enjoying their food and drink. Emily was sitting by herself, not that it wasn't anything new. Well, she wasn't completely alone, there was a maggot that lived inside of Emily's head that talked to her. After awhile, Emily got up and left the diner.

"See you soon, Corpse Bride!" Paul called after Emily had passed him. She waved back at him and went out the door.

Emily thought about her nickname as she made her way through a deserted alleyway. It was given to her when she came to the Land of the Dead. She had been murdered by a man that she was in love with, but he only wanted the money that Emily's family had. He lied to her saying the he would meet her to run away and get married, as long as she brought the family fortune with her. So, Emily, dressed in her mother's wedding gown, took the money and went to meet her love. Next thing that Emily knew, she was dead.

Since her death, Emily has been waiting to marry someone else. She was still wearing the gown. Although now, there was a tear of a slit that went halfway up her thigh, which revealed her left leg that didn't have any skin on it anymore. Emily's right arm, from her shoulder to her fingertips, were the same as her leg. On the left side of her chest, Emily's ribs could be seen through the rotting flesh and dress material. She was still wearing the gloves that she also took from her mother.

A sudden noise from behind her in the alley that echoed loudly distracted Emily from her thoughts. The ground was shaking, causing Emily to almost lose her balance. The wind picked up with a powerful gust.

_Wait! We don't have wind down here!_ Emily thought with panic.

"What's going on?" Emily shouted at the gusts that continued to hit her. She could hardly keep her eyes open.

Emily was overbalanced and she toppled over. She was prepared to hit the ground, but was confused when she didn't feel anything solid around her. Emily slowly opened her eyes. It was like she was floating downward. Swirls of various colors spun their way around her. Emily looked down and saw the colors start to fade into dull, dark colors.

In the next moment, Emily hit the ground and fell down on her bottom. As she rubbed her lower to soothe the ache, Emily looked around to see where she was. This place wasn't as colorful as the Land of the Dead was. In fact, it was quite the opposite. All the buildings were gray and black. Some of the only color that she could see where the orange pumpkins that seemed to be everywhere.

There was a fountain in what looked like the town square. Instead of blue water, it flowed with bright green liquid. It looked like a giant maggot was the source of the fountain's water, if that's what it was.

"You should be getting ready." said a male voice that sounded close by. Emily turned in the direction of the voice. "Oh! You must be new. I've never seen you before."

Emily could a very lanky man walking towards her. He looked like one of the boniest men that Emily had ever seen, in life or death. Once he stepped into the light, Emily could have sworn that her dead heart had fluttered.

"Here." The skeleton, now that Emily could see him, offered her a bony hand. "Let me help you up."

Emily was hesitant. She had seen many skeletons back home, but never had she had such a reaction like she did when this one walked in. Emily slowly reached out her own bony hand and took his.

"I'm Jack Skellington." he said as he helped Emily get to her feet. "But I'm better know as the Pumpkin King." Emily made it look like she was steadying herself. "What's your name?" Jack asked.

Emily was usually quite the talkative corpse, but she couldn't find her voice. She knew that if she had blood running through her veins, Emily's face would be dark with blush.

"I-I'm Emily, the Corpse Bride." she responded after a moment.

"Welcome to Halloween Town, Emily. Now, I must be off. I need to get ready for tonight." Jack said as he took a step away. "I hope you stay to watch, Emily." Jack winked at her.

Emily nodded. She felt like she lost her voice again.

"Then, I'll see you later." Jack said. He waved back at Emily. Then, he disappeared back into the shadows. Emily waved back just before Jack was out of sight.

She could feel a silly grin spread over her face. Emily wanted to twirl and dance around. She hadn't felt like this since before she died.

A thought struck Emily that brought her out of her dream-like state.

_What am I doing in Halloween Town? How did I get here? Am I going to be able to get back to the Land of the Dead?_

Emily was overcome with the worries that these thoughts brought.

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**Ok! So, another random thought that I had recently that would leave me alone 'til it was written. Anywho, please tell me your thoughts. Its my first crossover. **

**(P.S. This is part of my birthday present to my readers. Today is my b-day!)**

**Reviews are very much welcomed!**


	2. This Is Halloween

Emily sat with her back against the wall that seemed to surround the entire town while she was twirling a dandelion in her flesh-covered hand. Her other hand was propping her head up. Emily's eyes gazed around her new surrounding.

"So, this is Halloween Town?" Emily asked herself. The town certainly had the air and look of the holiday. Emily had managed to ti find herself a little nook, next to a tree, to watch whatever festivities that Jack hoped she would stay to watch.

Emily smiled at the thought of Jack. She couldn't could figure out what is was about that particular skeleton that was making her feel giddy.

_Once this thing that he told me about is over, I'll try to find out how I got here,_ Emily thought as she looked up at the dark sky.

Suddenly, singing voices filled the night, breaking through Emily's musing. She turned towards the noise and was shocked at the sight.

A parade was making its way to the town square. There were all sorts of creatures that made the line-up: a werewolf, a plump clown on an unicycle, a few witched flying overhead on broomsticks, a man that seemed to be made of the goo that was oozing from his body, cloaked vampires and someone that looked like a devil. Also, ghosts were hovering everywhere. All of them were singing some song, but Emily wasn't paying much attention to that. She was excitedly searching for Jack.

A large cart was bringing up the rear of the procession that was driving by a man whose body was shaped like a triangle with a top hat that was as tall as he was. Upon the cart was a large burlap sack that seemed to have arms, legs and a head. It looked like the cart had a spinning platform on it, because Emily saw the burlap sack circle around. She was shocked to see that it had a face. The cart came to a stop in front of the fountain, but whatever was causing the spinning upon the cart did not cease.

"And now I, Oogie Boogie, am proud to present the Pumpkin King." the potato sack said as it continued to spin. As Oogie said the words 'Pumpkin King' flames erupted from the center of the platform. A scarecrow with a pumpkin head was slowly rising from the middle of the fire, though it wasn't burning at all.

Emily stared in amazement as the spectacle played out before her. The scarecrow lift its arms up towards its head and pulled off the pumpkin, revealing Jack Skellington's face. He spun around with his arms extended into the flames, letting the pumpkin catch fire. Then, Jack threw the flaming pumpkin up in the air. It exploded with a firework display of colors.

"Thank you for making this such a horrid Halloween!" Jack shouted so that everyone could hear him. All the citizens were cheering and congratulating one another. Emily saw that everyone was trying to shake Jack's bony hand. It was like he was the hero of the town.

"Alright," the triangle-shaped man called out. Emily could see that he had a badge on his chest that read 'MAYOR'. "Time to hand out the prizes."

Jack spotted Emily by the tree that she was standing next to. He broke away from the now distracted crowd and made his way over to her.

"Well, did you like it?" Jack said as he was taking off the scarecrow costume he was wearing, tossing it over his arm once he was out of it. Jack was wearing the As he approached Emily, Jack brushed off some soot that was on his shoulder.

"Yes." Emily answered with a shy smile. When Jack returned the smile, she forgot that she needed to find out how she got here and how she was going to get back home to the Land of the Dead. In fact, Emily was sure that if she was still alive, she would have forgotten to breath.

"So, where is it that you come from?" Jack asked, making Emily come crashing back to reality. "We don't get many visitors here." he continued, his voice sounding a little excited. "Come on, let's walk." his costume-free arm suggested towards the cemetery.

"I come from the Land of the Dead." Emily said to the ground as they walked. She chanced a glance at Jack, who looked puzzled as he took one slender finger and scratched the top of his skull.

"Do you mean like this?" Jack said as he pointed towards something that was just ahead of them.

Just out of curiosity, Emily looked up to see what Jack was referring to. There was a high cast-iron fence that surrounded a grave yard that had many elaborate headstones. Also, a strangely-shaped hill was just beyond the cemetery. She took a moment to look at the sight before she answered, "No, not like that."

Jack seemed intrigued about Emily and the fact that she came from another world. He continued to ask questions as they reached the graveyard. Jack wanted to know what its was like in the Land of the Dead and about it. It wasn't until he asked how she got to Halloween Town that Emily ran out of answers.

Emily leaned back against the fence and slid down to sit on the ground. She let out a sigh. "I'm not sure how I got here." she said. Emily looked up at the moon.

"I think I know someone that might be able to help." Jack said happily. "Emily, we are going to see Dr. Finklestein."

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**Thanks for being patient with me! Uber busy with college stuff! Working on the story as much as I can!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Doctor Finklestein?" Emily repeated. She looked confused. "Who is that?" she asked.

"Oh!" Jack said. "He's the town scientist. Doctor Finklestein is a genius!" he continued as he lifted his hands in the air to express the idea.

Emily thought it was cute how Jack used his hands to convey his message. She hid her smile behind her flesh-covered hand.

"Well, let's go see him." she said. Emily liked Halloween Town, but she missed the Land of the Dead.

As she got to her feet, Emily noticed that Jack had a very pensive expression of his skull of a face. The moonlight showered down on him.

_He is quite lovely to look at..._

"Emily, we should wait until tomorrow." Jack said after a moment. "Seeing as it is so late already."

Jack's words made Emily realize something. She had not thought about the fact that she might have to stay the night in Halloween Town. Where could she sleep?

"Oh..." Emily responded. It was the only word that she could come up with as she slowly leaned back against the fence.

"Come on." Jack said, offering his hand to Emily.

She stared at his hand for a moment. _Maybe...being here won't be so bad._ Emily thought as she took Jack's hand.

Suddenly, an echoing bark roared through the empty graveyard. Emily jumped at the sound and fell forward, crashing into Jack's chest.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, his voice colored with concern.

Emily slowly looked up at Jack before nodded her head. Her words were caught in her throat and refused to come out.

Jack turned his attention away from Emily and looked around the graveyard.

"Zero!" he said loudly as the barking resumed. Jack made sure that Emily was steady on her feet then he took a couple steps away from her and toward the the barking sound.

Cautiously, Emily turned around to see what Jack was talking to. There was what looked like a ghost dog. It had a long snout with a Jack-O-Lantern nose. From its neck down, the dog's body flowed like a sheet. The ghost dog didn't have any legs or a tail. It hovered above the ground and looked up at Jack happily. Jack bent down to the dog's level.

"Not tonight boy. We have a guest." Jack said to the dog with one arm extended towards Emily.

"Jack?" Emily said meekly as she rubbed her flesh-covered hand over her bone-showing arm. She stared at the ground. "Where am I to stay tonight?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily saw that Zero continued to hover around Jack's feet. But Jack turned towards her and did not pay attention to the dog.

"How about..." he started after a few minutes of silence. "How about you stay with me?"

Again, Emily felt the sensation that if she had a beating heart and blood flowing through her veins, her heart would be pounding out of her ribcage. And that the blood would rush to her face, causing her to blush.

_Calm down. _Emily thought to herself. She took a deep breath before she took her eyes off the ground and looked at Jack.

"I would love to." she replied happily.

Jack smiled in return. "Follow me then." he said as he motioned a bony finger for Emily to follow him.

As they walked back to the town, Emily nervously wrung her hands. She was grateful that they were not talking, except for Jack pointing out different places in town to which Emily just nodded. She felt like she could not make any sense with her thoughts, much less actual words and sentences.

"Well, here is my house." Jack said as he came to a stop.

Emily looked up to see a tall iron gate that had an image of a pumpkin in it. The gate was connected to stone walls that continued around the city. On either side of the gate and on top of the stone, there was, what looked to Emily, a cat with its back arched. Just beyond the gate, there was a set of narrow steps. The stairs led up to one of the most peculiar houses that Emily had ever seen. It almost looked like an upside down triangle. Also, it had a external section that jutted out from the house.

Jack opened the gate and motioned for Emily to go in. Zero hovered on the opposite side with his pumpkin nose glowing.

Carefully, Emily climbed the steps. She saw Jack take several at a time with his long legs and he was at the front door before she was.

_Oh my..._

The front door was thin. It seemed only someone as slender as Jack could easily fit through. He proved it true in the next moment. Zero followed after Jack. Emily had to turn sideways to slide in the door.

Once inside, she saw that they were in a small room. In the center of the room, there was a spiral staircase. The walls were covered in gruesome objects and books.

"Follow me Emily." Jack said as he walked over to the stairs. Emily kept her focus on Jack's back as he led her through the house. He continued up another narrow set of steps.

_This must lead to that other room that I saw connected to the house._ Emily thought.

"You can sleep in here." Jack said as he showed her a bedroom.

One of the first things to catch Emily's eyes was a strange metal chair. It had a dome-like top over where the the person's head would be. Her eyes traveled across the room, which was larger than the first room she had entered, and found the bed. Suddenly, Emily felt very tired.

"Th-thank you, Jack." she said, finally finding her voice. She turned to look at him.

"You're welcome." he replied with a smile. "Well, good night Emily. And have dreadful nightmares."

Emily chuckled at his remark. "You too, Jack."

Then, Jack turned around and disappeared down the steps.

"What a day!" Emily sighed as she walked over to the bed.

She sat down then slowly laid back onto the mattress. _Jack's bed._ The images that she had tried to suppress around him came flooding into her mind. Seeing as Jack was no longer around, she would not have to worry about hiding the silly grin that now spread over her face.

Sleep overcame Emily as she wonder about what it would be like to kiss Jack.

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**Sorry about the long wait. School is over and my summer has began! So, I will be trying to update as much as I can now! Thank you for being so patient with me! Much lurve!**


	4. Chapter 4

When Emily opened her eyes, she was momentary confused. She sat upright in the bed and looked around her. Suddenly, all of the events of yesterday came crashing back to her. It made her feel very dizzy. She fell backwards on the bed and rubbed her face with her hands.

"Oh yes," she said sadly. "I'm not home."

Then, her thoughts went back to a particular skeleton whose bed she was in.

"Jack..." she smiled as she spoke his name out loud.

Emily slowly sat up and looked around again. A strange, orange glow was streaming in from the window. Carefully and quietly, she got out of the bed and made her way over to see the light source. She saw what seemed like the sun, only it was a large jack-o-lantern that looked like as if illuminated all of Halloween Town.

She could see all the oddly shaped buildings that Jack had pointed out the night before.

"Oh, good. You're awake. Good morning."

Emily turned to see Jack's head poking through the bedroom door.

"Good morning."she replied. "Just admiring the view." Emily mentally added, _Of you_.

Jack fully entered the room.

"Well, if you're ready, we could go see the Doctor." Jack said.

Emily felt torn. Part of her missed home. But part of her wanted to stay here...with Jack. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. She took a breath.

"I'm ready."

"Let's go then." Jack said as he led the way down the steps and out of the house. Zero floated alongside his master.

Emily stayed behind the two of them so she could look around the town that was basking in the orange glow of the sun. The fountain was spewing green ooze as they passed. Emily wondered what the liquid could possibly be, but was not going to find out. Zero wandered over by the fountain, then something caught his attention and he went off in another direction. Remnants of the festivities of the night before were still around the town. Lights hanging from ropes that seem to connect the houses to the building right in the middle of town. Even with the sun up, you could still see the lights were shining.

"Here we are," Jack said, causing Emily snap out of her daydream-like state. "This is Doctor Finklestein's laboratory."

Emily looked up at the building through the bars of the fence. It looked like someone started to construct a round tower, but gave up halfway through. On top of the almost tower, there was a round sphere with a ring around it. Above the sphere, there looked like another addition, but Emily could not be sure what it was. The sphere was placed at an unusual angle, she thought.

"Follow me." Jack reached out and pushed the gate open.

Emily took a deep breath. _You have to do this. You need to get back home._ She straightened herself up and walked up to the gate with Jack.

Jack led the way. He talked to Emily and kept asking new questions about her home. Emily answered all his inquiries. Even though he did not have them, Emily could swear that Jack's eyes were lighting up.

They reached the front door and Jack knocked on it. There wasn't any response. After a few more tries, Jack just opened the door and proceeded to enter. Emily followed suit.

"Doctor?" Jack called out. His voice seemed to echo in the emptiness of the room.

"I'm up here, m'boy." replied a voice from up a very large staircase.

Jack followed the sound of the voice and Emily after him.

"Doctor, I have someone I want you to meet." Jack announced as he got to the top of the steps.

"Oh really?"

Emily could hear something whirling and looked to see what was making the noise. She saw a man in a chair with wheels that moved on its own. The man was bone-white. His mouth made her think of a duck's bill. He wore small black goggles. The man had black, elbow-length gloves on and wore a white coat.

"Hello," she stepped out from behind Jack. "My name is Emily." she said cheerfully. She offered her bony hand for him to shake.

"I'm Doctor Finklestein." the man replied as he took her hand and shook it. Quickly, he let her go. "What can I do for you?" He reached for a stick that was on the handlebar and pulled it towards him. The chair started moving backwards. This struck Emily as strange. She had seen some unusual things, but not a chair that moves without someone else pushing.

Emily told the story of how she came to be in Halloween Town. During the story, the Doctor would nod his head. Emily would cast a glance in Jack's direction every now and then, but he was walking around the area.

"Interesting." the Doctor said when she finished.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

The Doctor seemed to muse about what ever he found interesting.

"Come with me." the Doctor told both of them. He turned the stick and the chair turned as well.

The Doctor rolled through the room and Emily and Jack followed behind him. Emily looked around as they walked. There were a number of tables with sheets over them. Strange, lumpy shapes showed under the sheets.

"I was working on something last night and it may have something to do with all this." he wheeled over to one of the covered tables. "You see, I wanted to have an assistant."

The Doctor stopped next to a table. He pulled the sheet off to reveal a woman laying on the table. The woman seemed as if she were sleeping. She had long brown hair. Her skin looked as if it had been sewn together. She wore a patchwork dress, many different patterns put together to make it. On the floor next to her, Emily could see some dried out leaves on the floor.

"Her name is Sally." the Doctor said.

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**Thank you for being so patient with me. **


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